Sweden

[Tabitha]

I'm wondering what's the relationship between Sweden and Finland? What do Finnish people think about Swedish people? And what are the current events between these two countries? What's in the news?

And where can I find info about this topic?

tnx!!

[mCowboy]

[Mattlill2000]

I first realized the deep rift between Finns and Swedes after the Winter Olympics. In hockey, Finland won Silver!, being beaten by Sweden who won the gold. The next day at work I commented on how great Finland played but everybody was moody and silent. After inquiring the common reply was "Yeah but we lost to Sweden. This is terrible. If we would of lost to Canada or Russia, it would of been ok. But to lose to Sweden............." I have never ever heard such rejection after winning a Silver Medal in the Winter Olympics. Ooooooh that rift is deep, deep and deep.

[Hank W.]

Hrm... a bit like between the French & English?

[sammy]

Ooooooh that rift is deep, deep and deep.

Yes - and no. It's not that serious... no-one I know bears any real ill-will against Sweden. But it is true tah this tradition of losing to Sweden, often at the last minute of the game,is a much-lamented phenomenon

Anyone who knows Finnish will probably find this report on the subject of "neighbourly relations" very interesting (and entertaining!) http://www.kulttuurirahasto.net/upload/ ... .11.07.pdf

...mitä tapahtuu, kun ruotsalainen ja suomalainen kohtaavat suuren elefantin.

Ruotsalainen haluaa ennen kaikkea auttaa elefanttia, mieluiten kaikkia maailman elefantteja.
Tätä varten hän asettaa monia komiteoita ja työryhmiä, ja elefantille tarjotaan
mahdollisuus tulla ruotsalaiseksi. Elefantti saa lisäksi ikioman asiamiehen, joka määrittelee
linjaukset elefanttien monien ongelmien ja vaikeuksien ratkaisemiseksi. Suomalainen
taas hermostuu kohdatessaan elefantin katseen, ja häntä huolestuttaa se, että elefantti
itse asiassa suhtautuu häneen alentuvasti. Hän sanoo hiljaa itselleen, että elefantin
ei ollenkaan tarvitse luulla olevansa muita parempi vain sen vuoksi, että se on suurempi.
Mutta tappelemisen sijaan suomalainen tyytyy puristamaan kätensä nyrkkiin housuntaskussaan,
ja hän poistuu ääneti paikalta yhtä nöyryyttävää kokemusta rikkaampana.

(NB this is just an amusing anecdote, stereotype if you like, and the said report is a commentary on such views and whether there is any truth in them)

[Paul_D]

Hrm... a bit like between the French & English?

Maybe, but as a French, I can't tell...

I guess it's the same for the Swedes: the rivality between Swedish people and Finnish people, it's more in Finnish people's heads, isn't it? I would guess that Swedish people would rather find rivality with other scandinavian countries, or Germany; and they look upon Finland the same way that Finland would look upon, hum, Estonia, Latvia or Bielorussia ?

/Paul

[Hank W.]

Ok, so whom the French want to win in rugby?

[otyikondo]

I don't buy the French-English analogy. On a deserted beach in Thailand, or climbing up to Machu Picchu, or at an international seminar in Montpellier, the Finns and the Swedes are likely to find common cause in their Nordicness. Finns tend to mingle with certain groups at international meetings - other Scandis, the Irish (arguably for "elephant" reasons), and also the Brits.

Could the same be said of the English and the French?

[easily-lost]

Finns laugh at Swedes, Swedes mock at Norwegians, and Norwegians make fun of Finns. Pretty logical.

[Rosamunda]

Could the same be said of the English and the French?

Probably not. But that is probably the fault of the Brits and the animosity fuelled by the trashy press. Isn't it a class thing in the UK: the francophobes and the francophiles do not, on the whole, belong to the same social backgrounds, n'est-ce pas (maybe I'm wrong)? In France there is no similar feeling of animosity towards the Brits. The majority of French people are bemused by the eccentricities of the British and show no particular feelings of contempt or hatred. When England was knocked out of the European Cup (?) qualifiers I remember hearing a sports commentator express his concern that there would not be a France v. England game. It was a genuine sportsmanlike

So, I agree with oytikondo. I don't think the Finland/Sweden rapport is quite the same at the British/French one.

[antstar]

Could the same be said of the English and the French?

Probably not. But that is probably the fault of the Brits and the animosity fuelled by the trashy press. Isn't it a class thing in the UK: the francophobes and the francophiles do not, on the whole, belong to the same social backgrounds, n'est-ce pas (maybe I'm wrong)? In France there is no similar feeling of animosity towards the Brits. The majority of French people are bemused by the eccentricities of the British and show no particular feelings of contempt or hatred. When England was knocked out of the European Cup (?) qualifiers I remember hearing a sports commentator express his concern that there would not be a France v. England game. It was a genuine sportsmanlike

So, I agree with oytikondo. I don't think the Finland/Sweden rapport is quite the same at the British/French one.

I have been to Franch many times, as a holiday maker and also on sports trips and always i have met and got on well with the French. i think Fin\Swed is more like English\Welsh\Scots friendly rivalry

[sammy]

friendly rivalry

That sums it up pretty well I think.

[Ktulu]

My observation is that the relationship is very similar to that of NZ and Aussie. We hate losing to the Aussies (though it doesn;t happen that often... except in that pretend sport of cricket). We are fierce rivals and many a black eye has resulted between people from the 2 nations (mainly in pubs)... but if the sticky brown stuff was to hit the fan, I know we'd go to their aid and they'd come to ours. It helps that we have the history of the ANZACs I guess.

[otyikondo]

My observation is that the relationship is very similar to that of NZ and Aussie. We hate losing to the Aussies (though it doesn;t happen that often... except in that pretend sport of cricket). We are fierce rivals and many a black eye has resulted between people from the 2 nations (mainly in pubs)... but if the sticky brown stuff was to hit the fan, I know we'd go to their aid and they'd come to ours. It helps that we have the history of the ANZACs I guess.

Right on the nose, I'd say. And when a loooong way from home, the two of you find plenty of coomon ground in a cultural and "both stuck there zillions of miles from everyone else" sort of way. Not sure it even needs a crisis, just a place where you are both "different" and can comment from much the same page on the differences you see around you.